Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the performance of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) under EASE Banking Reforms Index 2.0. EASE stands for “Enhanced Access and Service Excellence”.
Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce were the top three in the list of “Top Performers”. Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India and erstwhile Corporation Bank were the leading banks in ‘Top Improvers’ category.

Notes:
In order to boost applied research and innovation in MSMEs and start-ups, the Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog has launched “ARISE ANIC”.
ANIC stands for “Atal New India Challenges” and ARISE stands for “Applied Research and Innovation for Small Enterprises”. The programme is to be driven by ISRO along with 4 ministries namely Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Notes:
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0.
The Climate Centre for Cities under National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) will implement the program. It aims to provide a plan for cities to combat Climate Change while implementing their actions. He also launched a pedestrian-friendly program ‘Streets for People Challenge’.

Notes:
The Government of India has set up an Empowered Group of Ministers headed by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to oversee and guide the entire process of corporatization of Ordnance Factory Board.
The Union Government recently announced that Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) – a subordinate office of Defence Ministry would be converted into one or more 100 % Government owned corporate entities.

Notes:
The Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT) has successfully developed a “Disinfectant spray for surface application”.
The alcohol based “Disinfectant Spray” for the surface applications contains botanical anti-microbials which would prevent various diseases caused by bacteria and virus. IPFT is an autonomous Institution under the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.

Notes:
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has recently dedicated three petroleum projects at Bihar to the nation.
Indian Oil’s 193 km long Durgapur-Banka section of the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur LPG pipeline, Indian Oil’s Cooking gas bottling plant at Banka and HPCL’s LPG bottling plant at Harsidh are the three projects at Bihar which have been inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

Notes:
Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh passed away recently. He succumbed to post-COVID19 illness at AIIMS.
He was from Bihar and belonged to Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), which he resigned few days ago. Singh is often called the architect of the MNREGA scheme, which was implemented when he was the Union Minister for Rural development.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sameer Kumar Khare as new Executive Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The veteran bureaucrat has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years. Sameer Kumar is a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance.

Notes:
The MD of HDFC Bank Aditya Puri has been conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by Euromoney Awards of Excellence 2020.
This award has been conferred to recognise the leader for his skills in building a world-class Indian bank. This prestigious award has been given by Euro Money just ahead of Aditya Puri’s retirement next month.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of India is to inaugurate Kosi Rail Mahasetu (Mega bridge) located in Bihar. The Kosi Rail Mahasethu project was sanctioned by Government of India in 2003-04.
It is 1.9 km long bridge and has been constructed at a cost of Rs.516 Crore. This bridge is of strategic importance along the India Nepal border.